Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail.
Disclaimer: I do own all characters and magic I have created. Please do not steal them.
Chapter Twenty-Five: PPP
"Don't go anywhere yet, ladies and gentlemen!" Chapati Lola announced with excitement. "We have some new rules for Day Five of the Grand Magic Games. Masters of the four guilds, please step down into the arena!"
"Me too?" Sting asked in surprise.
"Yes, you too, Sting-san." Chapati chuckled. The White Dragon Slayer gave the reporter a weird look before leaving the announcer's booth. Why did they invite him as a judge if they were going to send him out?
"It's amazing how things worked out." Yajima commented. "All of the guilds today will be passing onto the final round."
"I agree, Yajima-san." Chapati agreed. "All right, Sting-san has made it to the arena."
Down below, Masters of Lamia Scale, Blue Pegasus, Fairy Tail, and Sabertooth greeted each other pleasantly.
"Good luck to you all." Yajima said.
"Like last year, the Fifth Day will be an all out battle between the teams." Chapati started to explain. "However, the points you have collected up until now will no longer determine whether a guild wins or loses. Instead, the last man standing in the arena on Day Five will be the winner." Suddenly, Mato and a group of the Grand Magic Games committee brought out a table with a stack of cards on top. "Guild Masters, please take a look at the lacrima-tron."
The screen displayed six cards, each with a different picture on them.
"You can exchange ten points for one of these cards. The cards will be face down on the table and you will select them at random." Chapati continued to explain. "Keep in mind, once a card is chosen, it can be chosen again by a different guild. The cards have different affects for the final day of the Grand Magic Games.
"The first card is called Ally Switch." The card shined on screen, showing a picture of two stick figures with an arrow in between them pointing both ways. "If this card is chosen, Masters have the liberty to change their team. You can switch out as many players as you desire.
"The second card is called Hidden Player," A different card appeared on screen, showing one with a stick figure hiding behind a building. "Essentially, when this card is chosen, the guild will be able to send in a sixth player. At the beginning of Day Five, the sixth player will be hidden in the arena, and not even his or her guild will know where he or she is.
"The third card is called Extra Life." Chapati continued. The next card to shine on the lacrima-tron was one with a stick figure with a plus sign next to it. "Like the name suggests, one player on the team will receive an extra 'life.' When knocked out, the player can be replaced with another member of the guild. Of course, this can only be applied once."
"Sounds tempting," Yajima commented.
"It does, doesn't it?" Chapati agreed. "However, the last three cards are enough to rethink taking the chance to obtain one of these gifts.
"The fourth card, in this set, is called Signal Flare." The card had a small stick figure at the bottom of the card with a large firework above it. "Every thirty minutes, a signal flare will shoot into the sky, showing where one member of the team is. Guild Masters can select whom the signal flare will follow.
"The next card is called Minus." This card had five stick figures lined down vertically with two of them X'ed out. "Two members of the team will be eliminated before even starting the game, leaving only three members to fight against the others in the arena.
"The final card is called Timer." The card had a pocket watch on it with ten minutes shaded in with red. "The wizard who is effected by this card can only use magic for one minute every ten minutes. It doesn't matter how much magic is used, but using magic for more than a minute will result in the adding of another ten minutes to the timer." Chapati concluded.
"Those are some big punishments." Yajima said.
"It is up to the Guild Masters to decide whether they would like to take the risk of using their remaining points to obtain one of these cards." Chapati commented.
"It is a shame that Blue Pegasus is left with no points."
"Yes, after today's loss against Lamia Scale, Blue Pegasus will have to go into the fifth day with the team they have currently." Chapati announced. "Remember, guilds, each card is worth ten points. We, however, didn't anticipate that no guild would receive twenty points throughout the Games."
"Two cards in play for one guild would have made an interesting battle." Yajima commented.
"Do you think Master will risk it?" Lucy asked. She and Natsu had gone back to the balcony just as Lamia Scale beat Blue Pegasus during the battle round.
"Fairy Tail isn't Fairy Tail without a few risky plays." Natsu chuckled, giving Gray a fist bump.
"This will definitely put a few more unknown variables into my calculations." Mavis mumbled.
"We'll overcome it, if we receive a bad card." Erza said.
"Have you decided, 'kin?" Mato asked, looking towards the Guild Masters.
"We'll take it." Sabertooth's Master, Sting Eucliffe, said with a grin. The Games' Mascot nodded, motioning towards the table.
The six cards on the table magically shuffled themselves and lined up in two rows of three. The White Dragon Slayer hesitantly reached out and picked a card. Once the card was off the table, another appeared in its place.
"It will be beneficial for you to keep that card a secret, 'kin." Mato suggested.
"Right." Sting replied, putting the card in his pocket. He stepped back.
"You better give us a good card or I'll spin you." Ooba Babasaama, Master of Lamia Scale, threatened.
"'Kin…" Mato stuttered nervously. The elderly woman waited until the cards finished shuffling themselves before picking one. "Fairy Tail?"
"We'll take the risk." Makarov said with a cheerful grin. The cards shuffled once more. With his Titan Magic, the Master of Fairy Tail lengthened his arm and grabbed a random card.
"An exciting turn of events! Every guild possible has selected a card!" Chapati said excitedly. The lacrima-tron changed to show the current scores.
Fairy Tail – 8
Sabertooth – 2
Blue Pegasus – 0
Lamia Scale – 0
The lacrima-tron then showed the scores exploding.
"Of course, the points will now no longer have a meaning for the rest of the Games." Chapati reminded. "Guilds, enjoy the next two days of rest! That concludes Day Four of the Grand Magic Games. Come back on July 7th to see the exciting conclusion! Thank you to Sting-san for being our guest judge today. This is Chapati Lola and Yajima-san, we'll see you all in two days!"
"We're meeting at the bar?" Lucy asked as Fairy Tail was leaving the coliseum.
"Let's hurry, I want to know what card we got." Natsu said eagerly.
"Master said to meet in an hour." Erza reminded.
"Correct. He and Laxus are talking about what happened earlier." Freed confirmed. The Fire Dragon Slayer pouted.
"There goes Plan PPP." Natsu grumbled.
"You need to pee?" Max asked with a weird look.
"Too much information, flame brain." Gray scoffed.
"Pee-pee-pee? You need to go urgently?" Wendy questioned innocently.
"No!" Natsu yelled. "Plan, party, play!"
"What…?" Evergreen asked.
"That's not a very manly name." Elfman commented in disappointment.
"What, exactly, are you talking about, Natsu?" Lucy asked.
"We'll plan Day Five, like we did last year, and then we'll party like always, and then we can go play in the city!" Natsu said in excitement, but then he pouted. "But since we won't be meeting until later…" He trailed off.
"Oh my," Mirajane giggled.
"Lu-chan, want to visit the bookstore with me?" Levy asked.
"Sure, Levy-chan." Lucy agreed happily, walking away from Natsu's side.
"You don't want to hang out with us, Lucy?" Natsu sulked.
"I'll see you in an hour," The Celestial mage replied. "Unless you wanted to come with us? Books were never your thing before?"
The Fire Dragon Slayer scowled, looking towards the ground.
"No," Natsu said softly.
"We'll keep him busy." Gray said suddenly, putting a hand on Natsu's shoulder.
"Um… All right? I'll see you guys in an hour, then." Lucy said in confusion, turning to leave the group with Levy. The Solid Script mage sent an apologetic look over her shoulder.
When the two girls were out of earshot, Natsu let out a yelp as the back of his head was hit by the Ice Make mage.
"What the hell was that for, snow cone?" The Fire Dragon Slayer complained.
"If you like her, just tell her." Gray scoffed.
"Tch, what do you know?" Natsu grumbled.
"You could have gone with them, Natsu-san." Juvia said softly. "Even if it is to a place you dislike, it's better to be together, isn't it?"
"You don't want what happened to happen again without her knowing, do you?" Erza said next. Natsu crossed his arms and looked away from his family with a slight blush.
"Don't be so stubborn." Lisanna scolded.
"I'm not being stubborn." Natsu complained. "I'm doing things my own way."
"If you say so, Natsu." Bickslow said, his 'babies' copying his words.
The guild eventually split up into groups, going to various locations before the appointed meeting time came to pass.
"You should get her a gift." The Ice Make mage said distractedly. "Why am I giving you love advice?" He yelled, horrified. Gray unconsciously stripped his shirt off. Juvia didn't think twice before picking up the article of clothing and draping it over her arm.
"I don't know and I don't want it!" Natsu replied.
"But buying her a small gift would be a nice gesture." Erza said, agreeing with the Ice Make mage's suggestion. "Something that isn't too thought out. Something that says 'I saw this and I thought you would like it."'
"Juvia is sure Lucy-san would appreciate a nice sweet?" The Water mage suggested, looking into the window of a cute sweets shop.
"Yes, sweets are an excellent idea." Erza said, quickly going into the store.
"We'll be in here for the next forty minutes." Gray sighed, following the Re-quip mage inside. "Might as well get something to eat."
"In a sweets shop, Gray-sama?" Juvia questioned. "Gray-sama doesn't want to eat more sustaining food?"
"Erza eats sweets all day. I don't see the problem." Natsu commented, absently looking at the selection of colorful cupcakes. The Dragon Slayer then stuck out his tongue and gagged. "It smells like some kind of dessert monster exploded in here."
"Is the sugar too strong for you, Natsu-san?" Juvia asked curiously. "Gajeel-kun doesn't like sweet stores, either."
"Great." Natsu replied sarcastically. He had something in common with Gajeel.
"Want something, Juvia? It was your idea." Gray questioned, walking to them with a tray covered in various desserts. "Come on, I'll buy it for you."
"Juvin!" Juvia squeaked, quickly abandoning Natsu to go select a piece of cake.
"I'm sure I don't need to tell you want Lucy likes, fire idiot." Gray chuckled, walking away to see what Juvia wanted. Natsu rolled his eyes, but went to the other side of the store to inspect the weird desserts. Maybe he should get Lucy something?
"You should be nicer to Natsu, you know." Levy commented as she pulled down a book from the shelf.
"What?" Lucy asked, shocked. "I wasn't mean to him."
"You wouldn't think so." Levy mumbled, but then gave the Celestial mage a bright smile. "Just try to be really sweet, okay?"
"What has gotten into you?"
"Nothing." The Solid Script mage said absently. "It has just been hard for Natsu, lately."
"Really? He hasn't said anything about it." Lucy replied while reading the summary of a book.
"Of course he hasn't." Levy said absently, turning her back to her best friend to dodge any more questions. The Celestial mage lifted an eyebrow in confusion.
"Where have you been, Happy?" Natsu asked as the blue Exceed flew into the bar.
"With Charle." Happy said dreamily.
"Just Charle?" Gray said with a smirk.
"We were with Wendy and Romeo." Charle huffed, prompting the Sky Dragon Slayer to giggle.
"Were you a chaperone, Happy?" Lucy joked, coming in through the door at the tail end of the conversation.
"Natsu! Lucy is trying to drink me!" The blue Exceed cried, flying to the other side of the bar at top speed.
"Lucy, did you get this weird drinking habit from Loke?" Natsu asked, aghast.
The Celestial mage blinked in confusion before understanding the situation, "That's champagne! I said chaperone!"
"Idiot." Gray sighed, taking a seat at one of the tables, his team, plus Juvia, followed suit.
"Why would I want to drink a cat?!" Lucy gagged.
"Natsu!" Happy cried, flying back over. "Lucy says I'm not delicious!"
"I'll marinate you, cat." The blonde threatened with a tick of her eyebrow. "Then we'll see if you're delicious."
"You've gotten a mean streak, since coming back." Natsu said, ignoring the cries of his Exceed partner.
"I'm not being mean. Why do you guys keep saying that?" Lucy huffed indignantly.
"You just threatened to marinate Happy." The Fire Dragon Slayer said dryly.
"He started it." Lucy pouted softly.
"You're weird, Lucy." Natsu commented.
"That's not a new nickname." She scoffed. Gray, Juvia, Erza, Wendy, Happy, and Charle silently watched the two 'flirt.'
"Here," The Fire Dragon Slayer said suddenly, pushing a paper bag towards the blonde.
"What's this?" Lucy questioned, lightly beginning to open the bag to look inside.
"We went to a dessert shop. I thought you would like something." Natsu replied, looking at the knobs in the wooden table rather than at her.
"Oh?" She asked, peering inside. "A fruit tart?"
"You like strawberries, don't you?" Natsu mumbled. The Celestial mage took it out of the bag cautiously.
"Thank you, Natsu." Lucy said brightly with a short laugh. "I never expected you to share food."
Natsu grumbled, but was taken aback when Lucy placed the tart in front of his face, insisting he take the first bite. Hesitantly, he ate a small piece of the fruit tart. The Celestial mage laughed again, bringing her thumb to the corner of his lips to wipe off a crumb. Natsu's face started to burn a bright red, even more so when Gray whistled at them.
"Shut up, icy bastard." Natsu growled.
"We're not doing anything, Gray." Lucy complained, the blood in her body also rushing to her face.
"You like each other," Happy drawled out, rolling his tongue on the 'L.'
"Brats, are you all here?" Master Makarov asked, cutting off all of the conversations while standing on top of the bar countertop.
"I believe so, Master." Mirajane answered pleasantly, dutifully standing beside the elderly man.
Choruses questioning what the card was echoed throughout the bar. Makarov took out the card from his shirt pocket. Fairy Tail's card showed a stick figure hiding behind a building.
"Hidden Player." Mavis said excitedly. "Who wants to go in the arena?"
"Someone who works well with Laxus, Erza, Natsu, Gray, and Gajeel." Mira suggested.
"Why not you, Mira?" Cana asked.
"I think it would be a good time for Lucy to show off her new spells." Levy said next.
"Wait, me?" Lucy asked, shocked. "But wouldn't it way more entertaining if someone stumbled upon Mira by accident in the arena? Besides, she fights way better than I do, especially when alone."
"Give yourself some credit, Lucy. You fought that guy from Zepar War alone without getting a scratch." Gray scoffed.
"And you brought out a dragon!" Natsu exclaimed.
"Wouldn't it be exciting to be in the arena?" Mira asked with a giggle. "No one will know what you can do."
"You guys don't even know." Lucy grumbled, eating a strawberry off of the tart. "Why not Levy?"
"What?" The Solid Script mage gasped.
"You can give all of the Dragon Slayers a boost with your magic." Lucy replied.
"That's not a bad idea." Mavis thought out loud.
"What about Cana?" Levy countered. The Card mage finished swallowing a mouthful of alcohol before giving a weird look to the shorter girl. "She can do the same, except make iron. And she has fought in the arena before."
"Then why not one of the Thunder God Tribe?" Cana suggested. "They work well with Laxus. Gray, Natsu, and Erza are already a team, and Gajeel has worked with everyone once before."
"Oh my, no one wants the job." Mira giggled.
"I vote Lucy!" Natsu declared.
"Hey!" Lucy complained. "Then I vote Mira!"
"Warren! He can use his telepathy to contact the others and tell them where he is!" Max yelled next.
"No way! I vote Max! He has an element the others don't!" Warren countered.
"Why not Juvia?" Gajeel asked loudly.
"How about Wendy? She can heal everyone!" Romeo shouted.
"Romeo-kun!" The Sky Dragon Slayer protested.
Shouts of random names and reasons rang through Master Makarov's ears. The Sixth Master sighed while Mavis laughed joyfully.
"Okay, brats!" Makarov yelled, silencing the commotion. "Let's discuss why Mira should go in." The Take-Over: Satan Soul mage lifted her hand in greeting and smiled warmly.
"She's crazy strong and an S-class mage." Macao said.
"She can smile while taking someone out." Wakaba added.
"Mira-san can fly." Wendy piped up next.
"Who wouldn't want to see Mira in the arena?" Lucy asked rhetorically. "She's the crowd favorite."
"Okay, next up, Lucy." Makarov said next.
"Wait, we're actually considering me?" Lucy asked.
"She's part of our team!" Natsu yelled happily, slinging an arm around the blonde girl.
"She can summon up some Spirits, which will put us at more than six players." Gray said.
"And she has received some new spells and keys that can throw our opponents off guard." Erza added.
"I've never worked with Laxus, though." Lucy informed. "I don't know if we have a compatible battling style or if we'll just get in each other's way."
"We're guild mates." Natsu started to say. "We'll get it together eventually."
From near his grandfather, Laxus rolled his eyes. Things never quite worked the way they thought it should.
"Juvia?" Mavis asked curiously.
"She fought well last year." Gajeel informed.
"She demolished Lyon." Gray snickered.
"Juvia wouldn't say 'demolished.'" The Water mage said softly.
"She fights better than me!" Lucy yelled out, trying to take herself out of the race.
"Why don't you want to go in?" Natsu asked.
"I don't want to mess up again." Lucy sighed, leaning her head in her hands while lazily eating another piece of the dessert that was gifted to her.
"All right, and how about Levy?" Master moved on.
"Food for the Dragon Slayers." Lucy said instantly, sticking her tongue out at her friend as 'payback' for suggesting her.
"Don't make it sound like we're going to eat her, bunny girl." Gajeel scoffed.
"Oh, you'd like that, wouldn't you?" The Celestial mage countered, making Levy blush madly and Gajeel to scoff once more.
"It'll be good experience." Mira interrupted, veering the conversation back to the important details. "She hasn't been in the arena, yet."
"That doesn't make it a good idea." Levy complained. "Besides, I'll be starting off by myself, who knows where."
"I'm sure you can hold your own." Jet encouraged, Droy nodding in agreement.
"And Cana?" Mavis asked next.
"She can make food for two of the Dragon Slayers." Max said.
"She can set traps." Lucy piped up next.
"She's kick-ass in the arena." Macao added.
"And how about Wendy?" Makarov said, following his internal list.
"A healer, of course." Gray said. "When Chelia was in the arena last year, she kept healing."
"She can fight when she needs to." Erza added.
"I don't really like fighting, Erza-san." Wendy replied sheepishly.
"This is going to be a long day." Makarov sighed.
"Get him!"
"Don't let anyone escape!"
Explosions of light decimated the side of a large white building. Two figures ran out of the debris, one laughing manically while the other smirked. The one laughing turned back around and shot a large beam of light at the guards chasing them. The white-cloaked guards were blown back into their reinforcements that have just arrived.
"And these pathetic mages call themselves part of the Magic Council?" The Light wizard laughed.
"These old geezers that call themselves the council members do nothing but complain and twiddle their thumbs all day." The escaped prisoner scoffed. "And they say what they're doing is for 'the best.' Pathetic."
"Agreed." The Light mage scoffed. "Anyways, let's go home and tell Master."
"Took you guys long enough. I've been cooped up for a whole year!"
"Well better get training then. We've got some new information."
"Oh?"
"The Spirit King has made his move." The Light mage said seriously, the two of them still running from the scene of the crime.
"And how many have we gathered?"
"A few. They're not easy to locate."
"Good thing there aren't too many in the first place."
"Lucy Heartfilia, congratulations. You're our Hidden Player." Makarov announced, clapping.
"You're kidding." Lucy sighed, banging her head on the tabletop.
After much deliberation, the players were narrowed down to two: Mirajane and Lucy. It was when Gray remembered that Lucy had a magic and scent concealing cloak that it was decided that the Celestial mage would go into the arena as Fairy Tail's Hidden Player.
"Let's plan quickly so we can go out or party or something." Natsu said in determination. Plan PPP has to happen!
"Will you be gracing us with your expertise this year, First?" Erza asked.
"Of course." Mavis said happily, swinging her legs back and forth while sitting on the bar counter. "Let's get to work!"
"Can the rest of us leave?" Cana asked crassly.
…Later…
"It's dark." Lucy sighed as the group stepped out of the bar.
"We have the next two day's off." Natsu reminded, stretching his arms above his head.
"I've been meaning to ask." Gray started to say, looking towards the Celestial mage. "Why have you been carrying a backpack all day?"
"You guys told me to move to your hotel." Lucy said indignantly.
"That's all the stuff you have?" Laxus asked with a raised eyebrow. "You've been gone for almost an entire year."
"It's all I took when I went on that mission." Lucy informed. "Anything else I needed, the Spirits provided for me."
"Are you tired? We can just go and rest." Natsu suggested.
"I thought you wanted to go out and play in the city?" Lucy wondered.
"We can take your stuff." Laxus said, with Makarov and Mavis nodding in agreement. "We'll put it in Erza's room."
"You're not going out?" Gajeel asked.
"Not tonight, brats." Makarov answered. "It's late, and an old man needs some sleep." The Sixth Master stretched his muscles lazily.
"See you in the morning." Laxus said, absently taking Lucy's pink backpack. Inwardly, he cringed at getting seen with such a girly looking object. Not only was it a baby pink, but it also had a cute little plush doll keychain.
"What I wouldn't give to take a picture." Gray whispered to Natsu and Gajeel. Also being a Dragon Slayer with sensitive hearing, Laxus sent a pointed look towards the Ice Make mage.
"Good night, Master, First, Laxus." Erza said politely.
"Good night, and thanks Laxus." Lucy said next, ignoring the boys. With that, the Lightning Dragon Slayer, Makarov, and Mavis left for the hotel. Though Mavis was only accompanying them for a bit before doing… ghostly things.
"What now?" Gray asked.
"I'm going to find Wendy and the Exceeds." Gajeel grunted, taking a step to leave the group. "Later."
"Tell Happy to meet me at the hotel later." Natsu called.
"Do it yourself!" Gajeel shouted back.
"Jeez." Natsu grumbled. Lucy giggled, putting a hand to her mouth to try and muffle the sound.
"So what should we do?" Erza asked. "Shall we get some dinner?"
"Dinner sounds amazing." Lucy replied. "When I was out with Levy, there was this cute food stand if you guys don't want anything fancy. I think you'd really like the fire there, Natsu."
"They sell fire?" Gray asked dubiously.
"No, but they were cooking some kind of meat on a stick. Meat and fire, Natsu's favorite meals." The Celestial mage laughed.
"Let's go!" Natsu exclaimed.
"This way." Lucy giggled, leading the group.
"You don't have any weird guards today?" Gray questioned.
"They're not weird!" Lucy complained. "But I do, they're just watching from the Celestial World. They only come out when they sense danger or if I put myself in a not so favorable situation."
"Why do you need guards, anyways?" Natsu asked, walking closely to the blonde.
"I told you, we'll talk about it when we get home." The Celestial mage reminded. "Oh, we're almost there!"
"Whatever it is, smells amazing from here." The Ice Make mage said, drooling slightly. They had been planning for Day Five of the Games for hours, missing their regular dinnertime.
"Oh, look at that fire!" The Fire Dragon Slayer said happily. "You're amazing, Lucy."
"I wouldn't say that." Lucy said blushingly. "I just found some fire."
"I'm not so sure the owner appreciates his fire being taken." Erza commented, though she did nothing to stop Natsu from getting up close and personal with the food stand.
"I'm sure Natsu can light it again." Lucy giggled.
…
"Natsu! When I say, light the fire again, I didn't mean to light the whole stand!" Lucy scolded.
"You should have figured that would happen." Gray snickered.
"Sorry, Lucy." Natsu said in a small voice. The Celestial mage raised an eyebrow in confusion. Since when did Natsu have a voice as soft as that?
"I… um…" Lucy stuttered.
"Let's get going." Erza cut in, returning from her talk with the food stand owner.
"What did he say?" The Ice Make wizard asked.
"He has insurance." Erza said calmly. The rest of the group let out a sigh of relief. "But Fairy Tail has to pay for half of the cost of a new stand." The group sighed again, disappointed.
"Why are you here, Gajeel?" Jet asked.
"Tch, why can't I?" The Iron Dragon Slayer asked back.
"We were on a team outing." Droy informed softly.
"Let's go there!" Levy cut in, stopping any argument from manifesting. The Solid Script mage pointed to a crowded ice cream shop.
"I hope they have pistachio." Jet said absently, leading the group into the small store.
"Don't eat the bindings to the glass casing, Gajeel." Levy warned, seeing the hungry look in his eyes.
"Come on, shrimp. I didn't get dinner yet." Gajeel scoffed.
"You're more than welcome to go get some." Jet said happily.
"Jet's a bit bitter." Droy whispered to himself.
"We'll wait for you outside of the shop." Levy compromised. "Meet us there."
"Don't bother. I'll find ya'." The Iron Dragon Slayer said, leaving with a lifted hand that represented a goodbye.
"If you say so," Levy whispered.
"What was that?" Droy asked.
"Oh, nothing. Let's get some ice cream." The Solid Script mage said quickly, getting in line. "I think I want cookies and cream."
"I'm still hungry." Natsu complained, holding his stomach.
"When are you not?" The Celestial mage asked.
"Let's go there, Lucy!" The Fire Dragon Slayer said excitedly, pointing to a dimly lit restaurant and bar that was playing dance music. He grabbed her hand and tugged her along.
Erza started to follow after the couple but was stopped when Gray grabbed her wrist.
"Wait," The Ice Make mage said. "Shouldn't we leave them… you know… alone?" The Re-quip mage thought about the implications and nodded.
"Okay." Erza agreed, turning to walk in a different direction. "Where shall we go?"
"Erza-san and Gray-sama, alone? A new love rival?" Juvia gasped, seeing her Gray-sama grab the woman's wrist.
The Water mage imagined up an anniversary party for Gray and Erza, the two of them holding hands and laughing. The guild was decorated prettily with ice sculptures professing words of love.
Juvia's face turned white in panic as she hid behind a lamppost.
"Hm?" Gray hummed, turning to look behind him.
"Something wrong?" Erza asked.
"No," He said slowly. "I just thought someone was watching us."
"All right." She said, continuing to walk. Soon, the Ice Make mage followed.
"Erza-san! Gray-san!" Wendy called, running towards the group.
"Are you enjoying your night out?" Erza asked when the girl caught up to them.
"There are so many places to see." Wendy said excitedly.
"Where's Natsu?" Happy asked.
"He and Lucy went off by themselves." Gray informed with a mischievous smirk.
"No! Natsu! She's planning on eating me!" Happy cried in distress, flying around in circles. "Don't let her corrupt your mind!"
"Gajeel was looking for you, Lily." Erza said, spying the black cat by the other Exceeds.
"I haven't seen him." Pantherlily informed, shrugging.
"I'm sure Gajeel-san will find us with his nose." Wendy commented.
"We were heading back to the hotel. Wendy thought we should ask if you wanted to come with us?" Charle said.
"Sure, I guess." Gray said with a shrug. "Fairy Tail will probably be partying all day tomorrow."
"I wouldn't expect anything less." Erza agreed, leading the group towards the hotel.
"Where'd the others go?" Lucy questioned, looking behind her as they sat at the bar counter.
"Who cares?" Natsu said; salivating over the food other patrons were having.
"Your stomach is a never ending pit." She giggled. Lucy felt a pressure on her hand and realized it was still clasped in Natsu's. The Celestial mage blushed. Natsu probably didn't even realize it.
"Are you getting any food?" He asked, opening a menu with his free hand and laying it on the bar counter.
"I guess I could go for an appetizer."
The Fire Dragon Slayer pushed the menu closer to the blonde.
"You pick first." He offered, putting their linked hands on his leg. Lucy blushed harder, though it wasn't seen due to the dim lighting.
"N-Natsu?" Lucy questioned.
"Hm? Did you pick?" Natsu asked, oblivious.
"H-How about the cheese fries? I think you'll like it." She stuttered, pointing at the menu option.
"Whatever you want." He answered, turning the page slightly to look at the entrees but kept the appetizers list opened for her.
"Why…Why are you holding my hand?"
"No reason." The Fire Dragon Slayer replied, giving her a cheeky, innocent grin.
Lucy blinked in confusion. Natsu sure had changed. She wondered…
A/N: I think this is a dying story. The more chapters I post, the less reviews it gets.